From New Albany, Ohio today's program features the The Sacred Lullaby by Brahms performed by a young vocalist and violist from the Columbus Ohio area ... a teenage percussionist from Chicago performs a mesmerizing contemporary piece and then talks about how difficult it is to avoid being pigeonholed by other kids in high school ... and a 13-year-old pianist from the Bay Area tosses off one of the most entertaining, but difficult pieces by Franz Liszt. This podcast also includes Christopher O'Riley's extended interview with singer Frederica von Stade (Flicka).

From Athens Georgia, this week's From the Top features an unusually expressive teenage cellist performing Ravel's sacred masterpiece, "Kadish." We meet a 17-year-old pianist who has a strong case of synesthesia — so strong, she can occasionally taste the music ... and a young guitarist performs one of the most famous of all Spanish guitar pieces by Francisco Tarrega.

This highlight episode features the favorite pieces of renowned musician Gunther Schuller, performed by From the Top alumni. The show includes the world premiere of a piece Gunther wrote when he was just 19 years old.

This week from Mesa, Arizona we’ll hear one of the most thrilling works written for unaccompanied cello composed by Kodaly and performed by a talented 17-year-old from Gilbert, Arizona ... a young violinist tells the tale of her harrowing, but triumphant debut with the Cleveland Orchestra ... and the Phoenix Children’s Chorus takes on a haunting composition written by teenage composer from Denver and set to the poetry of Walt Whitman.

This week, From the Top journeys all the way to Bogota, Colombia to meet the talented young people who play in one of the best youth orchestras in the Americas -- the marvelously spirited Youth Philharmonic of Colombia. We'll also learn about Colombia's visionary national music education program, Batuta and hear traditional Colombian melodies performed by a very young Orff ensemble.

From Tucson, Arizona, From the Top this week features an unusually expressive 11-year-old violinist performing the last composition Debussy ever wrote. We'll hear one of the best teenage trumpet players in the country perform an exhilarating arrangement of Rhapsody in Blue by Gershwin, and we'll meet a talented young classical guitarist from Tucson who is a budding naturalist with a rather eccentric job at a university research lab studying ants. This week's podcast also features an extended interview with actor David Hyde Pierce.

This week, From the Top broadcasts from the Wortham Theater Center in Houston, Texas where we hear a French horn player evoke the steely imagery of the German Industrial Age through a stunning performance of the music of Hindemith, a local 16-year-old "steals" one of the best loved violin showpieces to perform it on cello ... and the great soprano Audra McDonald makes a cameo appearance to share stories and offer some advice to a young singer.

From Fraser Studio at WGBH in Boston, this week's program features a 17-year-old soprano from New Orleans who grew up working with a major Hip Hop producer ... a brilliant 14-year-old composer and pianist from New York City who performs both the music of Franz Liszt and his own 12-tone composition ... a talented teenage cellist from the Boston area performing Bartok's Romanian Dances ...  and we'll meet a young violinist who has seen music break down the walls of her brother’s autism.

From Fraser Studio at WGBH in Boston, this week's program features a brilliant 14-year-old composer and pianist from New York City who performs both the music of Franz Liszt and his own 12-tone composition ... a talented teenage cellist from the Boston area performing Bartok's Romanian Dances ...  and we'll meet a young violinist who has seen music break down the walls of her brother’s autism.

From Carnegie Music Hall in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania this week's program includes one of the only teenage euphonium players From the Top has featured performing a gentle, lyrical piece by Simon Mantia ... We'll also meet a 14-year-old pianist who, in addition to being a phenomenal classical musician, creates wonderfully entertaining arrangements of American popular songs for the Pittsburgh Pops ... and a young ensemble from Philadelphia performs from Schubert's famous "Death and the Maiden" quartet.